


Random Blinking Light

by LisaMack



Category: Sons of Anarchy
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:42:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24960259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LisaMack/pseuds/LisaMack
Summary: Prequel to Hurt... When Andie met Hale as more than a pain in the ass cop
Relationships: David Hale (Sons of Anarchy)/Original Character(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	1. You're Beautiful

You’re Beautiful

“Go away,” I grumbled to myself when I heard the sound of distant knocking at my front door.

I was on my hands and knees behind the bar pulling up floor tiles. It was long, hard, disgusting work, so I didn’t want to take a break just yet. If I stopped now, I might realize how gross the floor under the bar really was and I might abandon this whole thing right then and there.

“How the hell did Butch talk me into this?” I questioned the floor.

It had sounded so simple. Buy the old, dilapidated, neglected bar, do the renovations myself and then reap all the benefits of a successful bar that I had built from the ground up on my own. The first part was easy. The owner had been eager to get rid of this property, so I was able to buy it for a steal. Then came the next phase. Between Opie and some other friends, I gathered all the tools I needed to do the work with no problems. But now that I had started the actual work… FUCK!

I should have doubled any handyman’s going rate to get them to do this instead of being here on my hands and knees. But no, I wanted to do it on my own. Not just to save money, but to have the pride and satisfaction of building a business on my own. This was MY place, so I was going to rebuilt it, from the ground up by myself.

 _MINE!_ That thought made me smile. _You CAN do this!_

“Hello?”

 _What the fuck? Didn’t I…? Shit… No…_ Eddie was supposed to be dropping of the flooring tonight, so I had left one side of the garage open and the back doors unlocked.

“Is anyone in here?”

 _FUCK!_ I thought as I loosened my grip on my Louisville Slugger that I kept on a shelf of the bar. _What is HE doing here?_

“Hello…? Is…?”

“Down here,” I answered, letting my displeasure be heard with every word. “What do you want?”

“I… uhh… Hi, I’m Deputy Chief Hale of the Charming PD. I just wanted to welcome you to Charming and introduce myself.”

“And that’s why you made an illegal entry into my business? Just to welcome me here, Deputy Chief?”

“No, I… The… The back door was wide open, so I wanted to make sure no one was in here who shouldn’t be and all.”

“Sure, it was. So, you said your ‘welcome speech’, was there something else you needed?”

He took a couple of steps towards me saying, “From what I’ve seen, you’ve bought this building and you’re the sole proprietor, that… Well… That could be dangerous for a single woman here in Charming.”

“Single? Who says I’m single?”

He made a point of looking down at my left hand as he answered, “No rings, so that’s as good as single. Plus, the deed to the building and the business license are solely in your name… that tells me that even if you are in a relationship, it can’t be all that serious.”

“Wow. Someone sure has done his homework,” I retorted trying not to sound too impressed. It took effort, but I think I managed to sound genuinely annoyed and disinterested.

He nodded and took a couple more steps towards me. “I did because I wanted to have all the facts before I spoke to you. I don’t know if you’re aware, but we have this motorcycle gang in town who think they’re in charge of what businesses can expand here or not.”

I sputtered out a laugh, pulling the bandana covering my head to release my long, brown hair. My laughter got louder and harder as I mopped up some of the sweat dripping down my hairline with my bandana.

“You’re fucking kidding me, right? Does it look like I’m opening a TGIFridays? Or Outback Steakhouse? This is going to be an original, one of a kind place, so I’ll be fine.”

“You might think that, but…”

“Fuck off, Hale,” I interrupted with a lot more heat in my tone. “You and I both know why the Sons of Anarchy won’t bother me and why other clubs won’t flex with me either.”

“We do?” He asked with a wide-eyed innocence that mad my cheeks color with an embarrassed blush.

That didn’t last long and I glared at him when he started to smirk because of course he did. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep my emotions in check. “You are such an incredible douchebag. You just said that you saw my fucking name on the deed and business license, so you know that I call the President of SAMCRO ‘Uncle Clay’ and the VP ‘Brother’ just like I do with Opie. You’re not cute enough to play being that dumb, so don’t even try.”

“Sorry, I just… Well… Even though it’s your name on everything, I wasn’t sure you were… well you. I forgot how… what you looked like with long hair, so I wanted to be sure.”

“Yeah, well there’s no cunty cheerleaders at Business or Trade School, so I’ve had time to grow it out again.”

“Well, it… uhh… It suits you, Andie.”

I stared at him for a couple of seconds in a stunned silence. What was he playing at right now? “Thanks… I guess… So…? David…? Was there something else you wanted to discuss…? Or… Can I get back to work?”

He took the last couple of steps to bring him beside the bar to ask, “Are you planning on doing all the renovations of this place all by yourself?”

I shrugged answering, “Sure, why not?”

“If you got your brother and his… club to help, you’d have this place finished in no time.”

“This is MY place,” I countered with an angry growl. “SAMCRO has NOTHING to do with MY place, so I don’t need… or WANT their help. I can do this on my own just fine, fuck you very much. Even if I am just a girl.”

“Andie, I… I didn’t mean…” He closed his eyes and looked like he was forcing himself to swallow his emotions. “I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean any offense. I just… I thought…”

“It’s fine. This place isn’t SAMCRO, so you don’t have to worry about hassling me and my staff whenever the club does something to piss you off.”

“I won’t. I mean, that isn’t…”

“Whatever, Hale. You said you bit. You know where the door is to let yourself out.”

I turned my back on him then so I didn’t see the hurt look in his eyes at my surliness. Not that I would allow it to affect me at all. No, not me. I am woman, hear me roar. I don’t need no man to validate my choices.

“All… Alright. Well… It was good to see you, Andie. And… Welcome home. I… uhh… Best of luck…”

He sounded like he left his thought unfinished. Again, not that I cared. I pretended not to watch him as he retraced his steps to the door, he let himself through. When he reached the door to the garage, he paused to spare a glance in my direction. Somehow, I too had paused at that same moment and my eyes locked with is through the sweaty mass of hair that was now covering my face.

He held my eyes in a steadfast stare for an uncomfortably long moment. I’m not ashamed to say that I was the first person to break eye contact. Even though that was true, I couldn’t let it stand, so I forced my eyes back up to his face. By that time, he was smirking and left with a quiet laugh trickling from his lips.

“GO ON AN BREAK me, shake me, hate… me…” I sang as I swung the sledgehammer to break down the old bar top. Although it was installed in the perfect spot, its wood was so old that it felt like it might crumble of you leaned on it the wrong way. “Take me over… When the madness stops then you will be alone…”

Now this was the fun Opie had promised I would have by doing the renovations myself. Tearing up the floor and been tedious, back breaking work, but this? This was amazing and destructive. Maybe I should scrap opening my own dive bar and join a demolition crew because this was FUN.

I hummed along with the song playing as I gave my best imitation of Mark McGwire’s home run stance and swung at the side of the bar with all my might. This time the head of the sledgehammer went through the front of the plywood. I felt myself stumble a couple of steps as I tried to pull it out. It didn’t want to budge. But I wouldn’t let it get the best of me. I knew this was just the first step to rock its foundation so that I could take the whole thing down.

“Fuck you, bitch… You are going down,” I grunted as I tugged and pulled almost front face out with the sledgehammer. “Oh… you are SO coming down.”

I squared up my stance again so I could bring the sledgehammer up over my head and then down on the bar top with all my might. It only took a couple of solid thumps before the whole thing imploded on itself.

I let out an almost exhausted laugh while I watched it fall. Before I could conjure up another witty retort, I heard a deep chuckle from behind me. “That looked like fun.”

“Because it was,” I replied with a breathy laugh as I wiped my right forearm across my forehead to sop up some of the sweat now pouring down my face.

“Good to hear. So… You’re… You’re working kind of late tonight…”

I used the sledgehammer as a crutch so that I could turn to glare at the man behind me. “Seriously? Who the fuck is so important that the Deputy Chief attends a noise complaint for them?”

“N-noise…? No… No one,” he replied looking and sounding truly perplexed. He shook his head then held up the six pack he had in one hand and the paper bag he had in the other. “I… I notice the light was on and figured you might not have eaten dinner yet.”

“Oh…”

“I’m sorry if…” He trailed off when I pulled out one of the beers and popped the cap off of it.

After I took a couple of long swallows, I stared up at him and pensively asked, “What is this, David?”

“I… uhh… I thought that you’d be hungry.”

“And why do you give a shit if I’m hungry? Or thirsty?”

“I… I…”

I watched him struggle to find his words while I finished my beer. Then a horrible thought struck me. Motherfucker. This is why I hated this stupid town. This is why I had never planned on coming back here, at least not permanently.

After I threw the bottle over David’s shoulder, just barely missing the side of his face, I practically shouted, “Get the fuck out, Hale. I already told you that I have NOTHING to do with SAMCRO. No matter how many beers you feed me, I won’t be able to tell you anything.”

“Andie, I’m… I’m not here about them.”

“Then why ARE you here?”

“I… I know that you want to do as much of the work here alone, but I thought you might want… accept a hand because… well… I really admire how you’re doing this all on your own and I really… I want to see you succeed and am hoping to help you with that.”

“And why do you give a shit if I succeed or not?”

“There are very few new businesses here in Charming, so it would be nice to have that isn’t under the gang’s thumb. And for it to be a bar I can come to unwind after a shit, that’s all the better.”

Huh. Well, he had me there. I plucked another beer out of the carrier and then gave him a cheeky smile. “Just because I’m not under their thumbs doesn’t mean that I don’t have some connection to them.”

“But I thought you said this was YOUR place, not SAMCRO’s.”

“True. But as much as I hate to admit it, especially out loud, they’re still my family. That means I won’t stop them from dropping by for a cold one. I will never turn my brothers away if they come to me for help, so I’ll always have some connection to the club because of Opie and Jax.”

“Yeah… I get that. But still, you venturing out on your own… that’s something I truly admire.”

I narrowed my eyes at him then said, “I must be starving because that almost sounded sincere.”

“It was! But I’m hungry too, so why don’t we sit down and eat?” After I nodded dumbly, he looked over his shoulder at the spot where my bottle had landed then motioned to the opposite side of the room saying, “Why don’t we sit down over there, the floor’s covered in glass back there.”

His earnest tone caught me by surprise and I choked on my mouthful of beer when I tried to suppress a laugh. “Sure, you set u over there and I grab us some more beer.” He looked so surprised at that comment that I couldn’t help but to let out the laughter building inside me. “I’m only overhauling the dining room… The kitchen is totally intact so the fridges are full of essentials.”

WHEN I GOT BACK to the dining room, I was stunned to see all of the food that David had laid out for a picnic. He noticed my hesitation and quickly explained that he wasn’t sure about what I might be craving so he quickly explained that he wasn’t sure what I might be craving, so he wanted to have options from which I could choose to decide what I wanted to eat.

We chatted while we ate a makeshift picnic on the unfinished floor. Surprisingly enough, the conversation was pleasant. David asked a lot of questions, but thankfully he kept them focused on my new business venture and not my family life.

After we had our fill of the food he brought, we ended up drinking beer with our backs resting against the boxes of laminate flooring piled on one side of the room.

“So…? What are your plans for the décor?” David asked as he finished his second beer.

He moved to place the empty bottle back into he six pack box, so I took it from him and threw it at the wall across from where we were seated. The shocked look that action put on his face made me laugh out loud.

“The paneling on the walls comes down tomorrow, so there’s no point in trying to keep it tidy or anything.”

“Alright…” he then put up another empty bottle and tossed it across the room.

“There you go,” I teasingly praised as I bumped my shoulder against his. “But back to your question. This place felt too sterile with all of the white tile, so I’m going for a warmer, homey feel. I really missed going to Dad’s cabin while I was at school, so I’m going to use it as my inspiration. The laminate flooring will look like genuine hardwood floors and the new panels that are going up tomorrow will look like wood too.”

“That sounds cozy.”

“I hope it will be. I’ve also decided hat instead of having booths that we’ll have comfy chairs with a low table between them, like a coffee table. And in that corner and that one (I pointed as I spoke) we’ll install a couple of electric fireplaces I have on order. That way we’ll have the look of relaxing by a fire without the extra heat.”

“That all sounds amazing.” He tilted the neck of his beer towards mine, so I tapped my bottle’s neck against his. “With the kitchen being functional, have you thought about your menu?”

“A little bit. But I’ve hired my chef, so I’m leaving the menu mostly up to him while I focus on the dining room remodel.”

“Smart. And you’re getting rid of that bar?”

“NO, just the crappy plywood one that was seconds away from falling apart on someone. The custom built, redwood one I have on order should be here by the end of the week. So, I have to get the floors and walls done before then.”

“Well, if you want some help…”

“No.” I stated firmly over the rest of his statement. He gave me innocent wide eyes as I angrily continued, “I’m not asking my brother or anyone from the club for help because they might try to stake a claim on this place.”

“I know, I know. I… I mean, I get it. I just… What I was saying is that… I could drop by to help if you want.”

“You? Helping me?” He nodded after each question. I just stared at him pensively as I finished my beer. “And why would you want to do that, Deputy Chief Hale?”

“Like I said…”

“Right. You want to see me succeed. I should be fine on my own, but if you decide to drop by, I guess I can’t stop you. It’s a free world.”

“True, but this IS private property, so if you don’t want me… What…? What is that look for?”

I shook my head and tossed my empty beer bottle across the room with the rest of them. I wasn’t sure how to explain what I was feeling, so I just went with the thoughts running through my head and blurted out, “I think you got me drunk.”

“What makes you say that?”

“I… I can’t stop thinking about doing this…”

“Doing wh…?”

His question got cut off by me leaning forward and kissing him.


	2. In An Asymmetric Kind Of Way

In An Asymmetric Kind Of Way

The next day I had let myself sleep in later than I normally did. After eating and finishing off the two six packs of beer, David had helped me to finish breaking down the old bar and moving the debris to the garage. It was too late to start tossing everything into the oversized garbage bin in the alley (and he didn’t want me to get a noise complaint), so we left that for me to do in the morning.

Nothing was said about the kiss we shared. It hadn’t lasted all that long and David kept it very chaste. It ended up being such a non-event that by morning I had convinced myself that it was an alcohol induced hallucination.

“You need to drink more water,” I told myself as I cooked some eggs on the stove. “Stay hydrated, stay sane.”

Sound advice. I really needed to remember that the next time I thought crushing more than one six pack was a good idea. Sure, I slept like the dead, but fuck, I really could do without the nightmare of getting along or making out with David Hale.

“I’m really starting to lose it.”

I made sure to pull out a couple of bottles of water to take downstairs with me. Sure, my apartment was right above the bar, but I knew that once I got started working, the twenty steps up to my kitchen would be too many for me to get water. Soon enough, I would have the bar’s kitchen properly stocked with more than just beer and I would have no excuses for not taking time to eat or hydrate properly. Not that I still wouldn’t be able to come up with a few excuses in a pinch.

As I made my wad down the stairs, my phone started ringing. I could feel myself frown when I saw “TM” on the call display. Why would anyone be calling me from there? No one from the club should know that I was back in town yet. Yeah, it’s kind of shitty, but I specifically didn’t want Gemma to know because she might try to recruit me to come in to help them get ahead with the cars waiting for work to be done at the garage. My plan was to keep my return quiet until the bar was open. That way I could dodge helping out with the totally legitimate reasoning that I had to focus my attention on my new business. Gemma would be understanding about that, right? Yeah... right.

 _Maybe Opie’s calling for Donna or something,_ I thought as I finally moved to answer the call.

“Welcome home, Baby,” Gemma stated before I could get the usual phone greeting out. “How are things going with your bar?”

 _Gemma? How did she know...?_ Fucking Charming! Did I mention how much I hated this town sometimes?

“Th-thanks, Mom. Renos are going well. How...? How did you find out about it?”

“We were all wondering who bought the place, so we asked around.”

That sound you just heard was me letting out a humorless laugh. By ‘asked around’ she meant she had someone call their contacts at City Hall or whatever level of government they needed to talk to get the answer she wanted. Fuck, the club probably had Juice hack into a few websites to confirm the information too.

“So? Were you ever planning on telling us that you finally made it home?”

Wow! Gemma sounded pissed! I knew she and a few other people might be annoyed about my decision, but I didn’t expect her to be so genuinely incensed. Dammit! Damage control.

“Of course, I did! DO! Of course, I do! I just wanted to wait until the majority of the work was done because I really don’t have any free time right now.”

“Oh really? Well... what about meals? You don’t even have time to spare for a family dinner?”

My cheeks heated up with an embarrassed blush. “Honestly? I forget to eat dinner most nights. I usually work until I’m almost too exhausted to make it upstairs to my bed.”

“ANDREA!” She tisked me with a cluck of her tongue. That made me smile because she had lost some of the heat from her tone. “Baby Girl, you need to take better care of yourself or you’ll make yourself sick before you can get your place opened.”

“I know, Mom. I promise I won’t let that happen.”

“I’ll hold you to that. So, do you have anyone helping you? Because I could have Clay send the Prospect over if you need an extra pair of hands.”

“Thanks, but I’ve got it covered. It’s... wait! Prospect? The guys finally have someone new to torture?”

That made her laugh. “They sure do. You should come by the house tomorrow for dinner so you can meet him.”

“Dinner...? Tomorrow...? I... I don’t know...”

“Opie and Donna should be here too. Your dad spilled the beans about you being back and helping Donna with the kids.”

“He did? Look, Gemma, I’m sorry I didn’t...”

“It’s fine, Sweetheart,” she interrupted in a surprisingly serene tone. “You helping Donna like that is what she needs right now. Have you seen your brother?”

I shook my head even though I knew she couldn’t see me. “We’ve talked a lot since he got out, but I was still back East when he was released. I’ve been trying to give him time to get reacquainted with the kids because Donna said it’s been kind of tough on all of them.”

“Really? Maybe I should...”

“No!” I almost shouted in my haste. _Shit! That’s one of the things Donna has specifically asked me not to do!_ She wanted Opie out of the club and didn’t want any more help from them or Gemma. Since I had said the same thing about my bar, who was I to bitch about my sister in law wanting to raise her kids on her own? “It’s just... five years is like a lifetime when you’re a kid. Ellie and I have talked about it a few times. She just got so used to it being the three of them that having Opie home is weird. They just need some time to get to know each other again.”

“True. And... I’m so proud of you for stepping up and being such a good Aunt. Those kids are lucky to have you... especially close to home.”

And there you have it, the real reason I was back in Charming. I had actually been looking at a couple of restaurants and bars in New York and Florida, but I ultimately chose this place because I wanted to be closer to Opie’s family. Ellie was getting to be old enough that she started guilt tripping me about being so far away. Okay, that’s not the full truth. She just called and expressed how much she missed me and on nearly a daily basis and that made the guilt eat away at my conscience. I had been there for them while their Dad was missing out on a huge part of their lives and if I was being honest, I really missed being able to see the kids whenever I wanted.

“I try my best. And once this place is up and running, I swear I’ll have more time for the whole family.”

“That’s a relief to hear. So...? Tomorrow...? Dinner’s at eight. You don’t have to worry about bringing anything... You being there will be treat enough. See you tomorrow night.”

After I heard the call go dead, I pulled my phone away from my ear and just stared at it. I started replaying the conversation in my head because I didn’t recall accepting her invitation. Not that that really mattered to Gemma. She only heard what she wanted to on a good day, so even if I did flat out say no, she wouldn’t have acknowledged it.

Shit! How was I going to get out of this one? What could...? That thought got cut off by the sound of plywood hitting metal. What the fuck? Who was...?

“Hey... Sorry, I didn’t wake you up, did I?” I shook my head and just stared at him in a stunned silence. David gave me a toothy grin then added, “You said I was free to help you out...”

I shook my head again and tried my damnedest not to smile or laugh. “I must have been plastered last night.”

I turned to pick up my heavy-duty gloves and pulled them on. I didn’t notice his smile fall into a sad frown. I did, however, notice that he was cemented in his spot and had stopped throwing garbage into the large bin sitting in the alley.

After I had carried a couple of loads of splintered plywood and thrown them into the bin, I detoured to his side to quietly ask, “Hey. Are you okay, Deputy Chief? You...? SHIT... You didn’t hurt yourself, did you?”

He quirked an eyebrow and turned to face me replying, “I... I just... Hey, why...? Why do you sound so freaked out?”

“Why aren’t you answering the question? SHIT! Did you...? Please tell me you haven’t fucked up your back or anything!”

“What? Why...? Andie...” He stepped in front of me and gripped my shoulders tightly. “Andie look at me. Good. Now take in a slow, deep breath. Please? Just slow... deep breath. There you go.”

I kept my eyes locked with his while I copied his breathing. Shit, I hadn’t noticed that I was hyperventilating until he forced me to focus on my breathing. Oh my God, was I having a panic attack? Probably. But seriously, why wasn’t he answering the damn question?

“David...” I huffed out between breaths.

He shushed me into silence and led me back into the garage to sit me down. Once I was settled on a chair, he squatted down in front of me and asked, “I’ve never seen you... like that. What’s happening Andie?”

I took in a couple of deep breaths to make sure my voice would be even when I answered, “I haven’t been completely honest...”

He waited patiently for me to continue, but when it became evident that that wasn’t going to happen, he quietly said, “Hey, it’s alright, Andie. If you don’t want to tell me about it, that’s fine.”

I reached out to brush some dirt off his cheek with my thumb replying, “You are really sweet, David. So... The truth is that I don’t have insurance yet... that’s the real reason why I’ve being doing the majority of the work on my own.”

“Because you don’t have insurance?”

“Yeah. If I get hurt, it’s no big deal because it isn’t like I’m going to sue myself or anything.”

“True. But if you get hurt there won’t be anyone to run your place or...” He paused when he saw me shake my head. “Or not.”

“I’ve already hired pretty much all of my staff and... my head bartender is going to be my acting manager when I can't be here.”

“Wow. I didn’t realize you were that far along.”

“Yeah. Staffing has been the easiest part of the process so far.” He was still squatting in front of me with his right hand on my left knee. I then noticed that I was still running my thumb back and forth over his cheek even though the dirt was long gone. I watched my thumb, but did nothing to stop its movement as I asked, “David? Can I ask you a question?”

‘What do you want to know?”

“Why...? I mean when I first came in here, why did you get so quiet?”

“It doesn’t matter,” he answered abruptly.

He pushed on my knee to stand up, so I caught his right hand to pull him back down. Once he was kneeling in front of me again, I moved both of my hands to his cheeks. “It does... at least to me. Please?”

He got a sad look in his eyes as he answered, “I feel like I took advantage of you.”

“What? Why?” I frowned then added, “More importantly, when?”

“Last night.”

“Last night? When...? Ohhh... When **I **kissed you?”

This was quickly becoming one of the more absurd conversations I had ever had, so a bout of laughter bubbled up through my chest. David scowled disapprovingly, which made me laugh even harder.

“Sorry... Sorry...” I tried to apologize. “But... Seriously? How could you have taken advantage of me if I kissed you?”

“If you were that intoxicated, I should have stopped you sooner.” Now it was my turn to frown a question at him. “just now... You said you were plastered, so...”

“No,” I interrupted with an embarrassed chuckle. “I just... Having a civil conversation with you is kind of weird for me. Kissing you? That’s...even weirder. Me being drunk and imagining it just makes more sense than really doing it.”

“Why is it weird?”

I turned my eyes down to his hand that was now stroking my knee again. “Because you’re David Hale.” He barked out a surprised laugh that caused my eyes to jump up to his face. He looked somewhat concerned, so I quickly explained, “Don’t you hate me and my family? Then... but then you drop by and offer to help me... and feed me... It’s... confusing.”

“Hate’s a pretty strong word.”

“But it’s accurate, isn’t it?”

“MAYBE for SAMCRO and what they’ve done to Charming, but no... not for you. I’ve never hated you.”

“Really?”

“Really. Truth be told, I had a pretty big crush on you in high school.”

“No way! Really? But last night when I kissed you...”

“You said you were drunk, so I tried to restrain myself.”

I laughed nervously because that made sense. But what didn’t seem rational at all to me was the fact that I couldn’t take my eyes off his lips or get them off my mind.

“Well… I’m completely sober right now, Deputy Chief.”

He didn’t move or seem to understand that statement. I bit my lip so that I wouldn’t laugh at the look I put on his face. Laughter always seemed to get me into trouble and as my shitty luck would have it, that appeared to be magnified while I dealt with two people: my dad and Deputy Chief David Hale.

He remained kneeling in front of me with a painfully earnest look on his face. He looked like he was expecting me to reject him. But I didn’t want to do that. What the hell was going on?

 _You’re going to kiss him_ , I told myself. _KISS HIM!_

My hands moved to his cheeks so that I could keep him still while I leaned in to claim his lips. Unlike last night, David didn’t remain passive. This time his tongue invaded my mouth as he surged up to his feet. I think my lips stopped moving, but I don’t think he noticed. Or more importantly, cared.

Once he was towering over me, his embraces became deeper and more insistent. His hands moved down to my calves so that he could move them up to his waist. He didn’t have to say or do anything else to convey his wishes because I immediately squeezed my legs around his midsection. Just as I had predicted, that was exactly what he wanted. He anchored my chest against his with a firm hand on my back between my shoulder blades while his lips moved faster.

My lips started moving again when his right arm slipped under my buttocks so that he could lift me off my chair. I don’t know what he had planned, but the next thing I knew he was sitting on the floor with me sitting on his lap. That was find with me because it helped me to free up my hands to explore his body.

While we each worked at gaining dominance of our embraces, my hands moved to his waist. Finding his belt was easy. Trying to undo it blindly so was not. I was fumbling so bad that David was able to grip my wrists tightly to pull my hands away.

My lips slowed down while I tried to move my hands back down to his belt. When he practically smacked my hands away, I pulled back from his lips to let out an unhappy noise before I growled out, “What the hell, Hale?”

He leaned back then and frowned at my angry words. “What are you doing?”

“Other than the obvious?” I retorted incredulously.

“Pretend it isn’t obvious to me.”

My eyebrows knitted together into a confused scowl as I answered, “I’m trying to get into your pants.”

“Andie,” he said in a soft exasperated voice. “Aren’t you moving a little fast?”

I huffed out a laugh. “Isn’t that the point?”

I moved forward to kiss him again, but he quickly flinched away. That movement gave me a moment of pause. David used that as a chance to move out from under me and put some space between us.

 _What the actual fuck?_ “Are…? Aren’t you attracted to me?”

“Andie…” He got a sad look in his eye as he leaned forward to tuck a stray hair behind my ear. “Of course, I am. But… we don’t’ have to rush anything. Plus…” He paused at the sound of the intercom at the garage door buzzing. “Plus, lunch is here.”


	3. Your face is not a cliché

Your Face Is Not A Cliché

*****Flashback*****

**_After we ate, David and I finished throwing all of the garbage I had piled up in my driveway and garage into the bin. When I saw how full it was, I just stared at it for a couple of minutes. Wow. All of the work I had been doing for the last three days turned into THAT much garbage? No wonder I had slept like the dead every night._ **

**_David had moved into the dining area and had picked up a broom to start sweeping. When he saw me step inside the room, he kept his eyes on his work as he said, "We should be able to put a dent in the flooring before dinner."_ **

**_I just stared at him for a few seconds before I shook my head. Thankfully, David didn't see me trying to clear my head because I'm sure that would have somehow turned into another argument between us._ **

**_"_ ** **_Perfect. I'll… I'll unpack a few boxes while you finish… sweeping."_ **

**_As I got to work, I didn't notice David watching me with a concerned look in his eyes. I know it wouldn't have made sense to me because in my mind he was the one who had rejected me, so he had no right to feel or look hurt. In fact, he was lucky that I hadn't kicked him out._ **

**And why haven't you, Andie?** **_I thought as I worked to set up the compound miter saw I had rented to help with this job. What? I got my carpentry ticket after I finished my business degree so that I wouldn't have to depend on anyone but myself if emergency repairs were needed on my establishment._ **

**Because you're an idiot** **_, I reasoned as I started to lay down padding and started to put the flooring into place._ **

**_David fell into perfect synch with me and we got nearly the whole floor done before we heard someone buzzing at the door again. Turns out, David had placed orders with our local diner to deliver lunch and dinner while we worked. Since I had been dumb enough to admit, out loud, that I forgot to eat dinner most nights, David took it upon himself to make sure that I was forced to eat when the deliveries were mad._ **

**_When I pointed out that I hadn't told him about that interesting tidbit, he countered that he was an officer of the law who was… in his words a keen observer with impeccable hearing. Acute hearing… A cute… NO! Shut up brain! After I heard that I gave him an unimpressed look until he finally admitted that he had actually overheard my conversation with Gemma and that's how he knew this much about my eating habits._ **

**_"_ ** **_You were eavesdropping!" I cried out as I flicked my beer bottle cap at his head._ **

**_He managed to dodge it with a hearty laugh. I expected him to tease me back, but he instead leaned in to kiss me on the lips then said, "Sorry, I didn't mean to, but… I'm glad I did."_ **

***** End Flashback *****

"SHIT!" I cursed out softly when my fingertip hit the exposed metal of my curling iron. Sure, it was probably overkill to curl my hair for a family dinner at Clay and Gemma's house, but I wanted to look good for it. Sure, I might no want to be under SAMCRO's thumb, but they were still my family. And after such an extended hiatus from all of them, I wanted to make sure I looked good when I introduced them to the new me.

"Stop thinking about David Hale," I told my reflection while I touched up my makeup. "He has to work tonight. You have no reason to feel guilty about not telling him about tonight. You don't…"

But I couldn't get the words 'owe him anything' out because I knew that I did. He really didn't have to come by almost every day, but he did and… Truth be told he did most of the heavy lifting, literally. Usually someone insinuating that I was too weak to carry my own weight would have annoyed me to no end, but that didn't happen with David. Somehow, he had made it endearing.

"Ow!" I cried out when I poked myself in the eye with my eyeliner. "Okay, you look good enough. Get  
going before you do some real damage."

I DID MY BEST not to squirm while I waited for someone to open the door. I could tell by all of the motorcycles and cars parked around the house that I was most likely the last guest to arrive. Wait! I hadn't seen Opie's truck or Donna's car, so maybe I was the second to last. (One could only hope.)

"Deep breath," I coached myself just over a whisper. "Gemma invited you, so..."

That thought faded away when the door finally opened. I smiled at the familiar face, but he just frowned down at me asking, "Can I help you?"

I felt myself start to frown back, but before I could answer him, I hear another familiar voice call out, "JUICE! Who's at the door?"

Before either of us could reply, Jax appeared beside Juice. He raked his lecherous eyes over me as he dismissively said, "I've got this, Juice. Why don't you go see if you can help in the kitchen or something?"

"Yeah... okay... sure," Juice answered as he ran another lusty gaze in my direction.

Jax spared a glance over his shoulder before he turned his eyes back to me. I could almost feel my skin crawl as his assessing eyes moved slowly up my body. Why did I wear a dress? Stupid Andie.

"So...? Darlin'...? What can I do to you tonight?"

To me? Oh my God! Did that line actually work? Jax quirked one of his eyebrows in such a way that I almost gagged because, yes, yes it did. Gross.

I did everything I could not to laugh in his face, so what came out of my mouth instead was a thoroughly disgusted, "Ew."

Jax's face dropped as he retorted, "Excuse me?"

"JAX!" Gemma interrupted, just in the nick of time. "Who's at...?" She turned then to face me and finally someone's eyes lit up with recognition. "Andie! You made it!"

She scooped me up into a hug and squeezed me against her chest. Thankfully, I was taller than her now so I could place my chin on her shoulder instead of having my face smothered into her chest. While we hugged each other tightly, Jax's eyes were still wide in surprise, but when our gazes met again, his instantly softened significantly.

"You look amazing, Baby Girl," Gemma praised after she released me. It looked like she was going to say something else, but then her eyes moved down to my feet. "Andie..."

I swiftly picked up the bags and passed them to her saying, "They're samples I got from a supplier. I was really hoping everyone could help me try to choose a house wine... or at least narrow down the selection."

She claimed them from me with an obviously skeptic look on her face. But as luck would have it, she didn't say anything. Instead, she just kissed my cheek and said a quiet, "Thank you."

"Holy shit," Jax gasped out as he pulled me into a hug. "I'm so sorry I didn't recognize you."

"It's fine, Jax. But I hope that means you understand my reaction to you trying to hit on me."

"No worries, Sis. I totally do." He moved me to arm's length then added, "Even if you do look..."

I threw my hand over his mouth to stop him from finishing that thought as I shrieked, "JAX! Don't even think it!"

"Woah! What the decibel level, Beautiful," Tig griped.

I laughed then replied, "Sorry, Tigger. There... There's some beer in the bags Gemma just carried away in case you need a little hair of the dog."

He paused mid-step to move back towards me. After he lowered his hands away from his face, he asked, "Roo? Is that really you?"

"You bet your ass it is," I joke with a broad smile.

He scooped me up into his arms and planted an enthusiastic kiss on my lips. Truth be told, Tig was the first person to give me a real kiss. His was the first tongue I felt invade my mouth to coax me into my first Frenching session. Not that I've ever told anyone that.

Once he put me back down on my feet, he gently pet my head saying, "It's good to see you, Andie. I can't wait to hear more about your bar."

"Thanks, Tig. There isn't much to tell, but I'm still happy to talk your ear off when we get a chance to sit down."

He laughed at that before he kissed my cheek. "I'll hold you to that, Beautiful."

I giggled but didn't get a chance to reply before I heard Clay let out a low whistle. "Is that really you, Raggedy Andie?"

I felt my cheeks heat up as I playfully retorted, "You guys act like you've never seen me dressed up like a girl before."

Clay pulled me into a hug and said against my hair, "More that we've missed having you around. Welcome home."

"Thanks Clay, I'm..."

The sound of someone clearing their throat pulled my attention to someone behind me. When I had my suspicions confirmed, I smiled brightly and greeted him saying, "Hey, Daddy."

"Hey yourself, Short Stack. I'm really glad you came."

"Me too. I've missed all of you so much." While still being held in my dad's arms, I tried to look around the room. "Is...? Are...? Are Ope and Donna here? I was hoping to see everyone tonight."

"No, sorry, Sweetheart. Donna... she..."

"Oh," I replied with a sad smile because I knew exactly what he was trying to tell me. "Well, I'll try to catch up with them another time."

"Good to hear. So? Why don't you come over here and tell me all about this bar that you bought?"

"Woah! Wait up!" Bobby called out as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder so that I was sandwiched between him and Dad. "All of us want to hear about it. Come sit down at the table, Andie, so we can hear all about it."

DAD WALKED ME TO the door when I decided to call it a night. Everyone was quick to tease me about how early it was, so I tried, in vain, to explain that I had to get up early to work. My attempts to get them to see my logic were futile, just like I knew they would be, but that didn't stop me from trying.

Now I really felt like I was home. The teasing I expected and could somewhat handle, just like I had more times than I could count when I was a teenager. Seriously, it got so bad one time that I almost broke my hand punching a hole in the wall at the clubhouse. All that really ended up doing was make the club tease me even more, so I learned quickly how to reign in my emotions.

"Really, Daddy, I've got it covered. I appreciate the offer, but you don't need to send the Prospect over. IF, I need anything, I PROMISE I'll call. But everything is going according to plan, so I'm good."

"Alright, Short Stack, if you're sure."

"I'm sure. Really. I love you, Daddy."

"Love you too, Sweetheart."

"HEY GEMMA? CAN I ask you a question?"

She took the plates being passed to her as she answered, "Sure, Juicy. What's on your mind?"

"Andie looks... she's looking real good. Do...? Uh... Do you know if she's seeing anyone?"

She huffed out a laugh then said, "No, I honestly don't know if she is... But I wouldn't be surprised if she met someone at school... then again... she's always been fiercely independent, so I also wouldn't be shocked if she broke more than a few hearts and is still flying solo."

"Yeah," he agreed with a nervous chuckle. "I remember that about her."

"It's a good thing you do, Juicy." She kissed his forehead then stroked the side of his head. "She cleans up well, but never forget how tough she really is. Our Andie... she'll slice the balls off anyone that hurts her and make him eat them for breakfast."

"Oh, believe me, I know. I remember the story of how she broke Kozik's nose."

"And her hand too. So, Baby? Are you ready to take on an Old Lady who's... got that tough of an outer shell?"

"I'm actually hoping some of it will rub off on me and she'll help to toughen me up."

Gemma just stared at him for a second before she barked out a laugh. She then pulled Juice into a tight hug and said through another bout of laughter, "I'll have a talk with her and try to put in a good word for you."

"Thanks, Gem. I appreciate it."

I COULDN'T STOP SMILING as I drove home. I thought I would only be happy seeing Opie and his family but spending time with the rest of our 'family' felt just as great. I kind of hated how being at the table help to fill the void that had been growing inside of me since I had left Charming. I didn't want to be a part of the club's nefarious dealings, but I really wanted to be close to my family... ALL of them, especially now that I was home.

Maybe there was a way that I could find a happy medium.

I should talk to Gemma. I'm sure she...

"Shit," I cursed out softly when I noticed the light was on in my bar. "I thought he was working tonight."

While I parked in my garage, I tried to rehearse what I was going to say to defend my decision to go out tonight. Wait! I didn't owe David Hale an explanation. Sure, we had kissed a few times, but it wasn't like he owned me. Or that we were dating or anything. I was a free woman. I could go to a family dinner if I wanted. Hell, I could have fucked Tig in the backyard and he couldn't say a thing about it... Right?

"You... You look amazing," David commented when I stepped out of my teal GMC Yukon. "Hot date tonight?"

I shook my head, which caused my curls to bounce over my face. "Just a family dinner at my Aunt and Uncle's place."

"Aunt and...? You mean Clay and Gemma's?" He looked like it was a genuine question, so I nodded in reply. That caused him to roll his eyes. He dropped a paper bag on the countertop then said, "I thought you might be hungry. I guess I was wrong..." He let out a humorless laugh then added, "About a lot of shit."

"David!?" I called out as I grabbed his forearm to pull him to a stop. "Did I...? Why are you upset? You were working tonight, so I went to a family dinner... What's wrong with that?"

"There's... nothing... Except... You said that you wanted to keep separated from them."

"I do..." He still looked annoyed by that answer, so I quickly added, "My work... my business, not my life. I still consider them my family; I've been upfront about that."

"Yeah. I guess you have..."

"I HAVE," I interrupted his train of thought. "Plus... what the hell is this? Why are you acting like a jealous Mr. Hyde just because I went out for dinner? What's it to you if I go out or not?"

For a split second, I swear he looked hurt. But that quickly faded into an incensed glare. "Nothing... I guess it's nothing to me. Sorry I bothered you."

I pulled him to a stop again asking, "David? Why...? Why are you mad at me? I've been honest with you about this part of my life, please do me the same courtesy."

"Courtesy? Is that what this has been?"

"What? Is that how what has been?"

He just stared at me through a couple of slow blinks before he answered, "Nothing. Forget I said anything. I hope your renovations continue to go well for you, Ms. Winston. I should be getting back to the station."

"David?" I moved to follow him, but he was moving too fast and my mind was reeling too much for me to fully catch up, so I just ended up calling out, "David! Please? Don't leave like this! Please?"

But he didn't stop. Hell, his feet didn't seem to slow down at all, let alone pause. What the actual fuck? Why did he have his panties in such a bunch? He said he had to be at work and that he wouldn't have a chance to drop by to help me do any work. I took that as a sign that I should take the night off. I hadn't tried to guilt trip him, even though I really wanted to on more than one occasion, especially after the fun we had the other night.

We had finally taken the plunge to get each other off after we finished laying down the flooring. Sex still wasn't on the table, for him, but feeling him spill his seed on my wrist while I screamed out in ecstasy was almost as hot as feeling someone climax while inside of me.

The ghost of that memory made me shiver in remembrance of that moment. If you had of hold me a year ago that David Hale would excite me so much that I could get this excited at the mere thought of him touching me, I would have told you that you were insane.

But no, I was the crazy person.

"David? I'll be up for a bit, so please call me back. I... I don't get what happened tonight, so please...? Don't be a dick... Just call me."

SHIT! That so wasn't what I meant to say. Wanted? Yes. Meant to? No. I had tried my best to tread lightly when I dealt with David Hale because I knew how easy it would be for me to fall back into old, destructive habits. Old habits that had scared him off form trying to pursue anything romantic with me before I left Charming to go to college.

I needed to remember to treat him with a lighter touch, so I tried to fix my previous faux pas right away. Instead of leaving another voicemail (that I might slip up and say the wrong thing the wrong way), typed out a text message saying: You aren't a dick. I swear I didn't mean that. Hopefully talk to you later.


End file.
